Maybe it’s not a prayer, as such. Perhaps this thing that millions of people repeat every day, every Sunday, is mostly an affirmation. Maybe the answers are in the phrases.
“Give us our daily bread.”
Well, what is daily bread? It is that which nourishes our body. Keeps us alive. So far, so good.
“Forgive us. . . as we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
I suspect that the way to get my daily bread is to become a forgiving person. The way to be “not led into temptation” is to stop looking for ways to “get even”. The way to be delivered from evil is to find ways to authentically forgive the person, nation or situation that owes me one.
Not easy. Not comfortable. TV shows, novels, sports, and popular culture generally praise the notion of revenge, of getting even, of winning next time.
Anyone seeking revenge after saying the Lord’s Prayer hasn’t been listening to Jesus or listening to herself.
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